US EditionJim Jarmusch Confronts Controversy Over Film Funding Ties
Jim Jarmusch expressed disappointment over Mubi's $100 million funding from Sequoia Capital, linked to an Israeli military AI startup, amid protests and industry criticism.
- Yesterday at the Venice Film Festival, veteran indie filmmaker Jim Jarmusch premiered Father Mother Sister Brother and faced questions about Mubi's recent $100 million funding round and its implications for the co-produced film.
- The funding round exposed a $100 million investment from Sequoia Capital in May 2025 that valued Mubi at $1 billion, while Sequoia reportedly invests in Kela, an Israeli defence-tech startup founded after October 7.
- Dozens of filmmakers with ties to Mubi and more than 60 filmmakers on July 30 signed open letters criticizing Sequoia's backing, while hundreds on the Lido August 30 protested the Gaza situation.
- At the press conference, Jim Jarmusch emphasized he is not Mubi's spokesman but an independent filmmaker who described corporate financing as 'dirty money' and said his relationship with Mubi predated the Sequoia deal earlier this year.
- The company's CEO Efe Cakarel said accusations are `simply untrue` as Cineteca Nacional de México and Centre for Contemporary Arts in Glasgow cut ties; Jarmusch's film competes for the Golden Lion prize on September 6.
15 Articles
15 Articles
Director Jim Jarmusch 'Disappointed' Film Distributor MUBI Has Ties to Israeli Military: 'All Corporate Money Is Dirty'
Jim Jarmusch, acclaimed filmmaker of "Stranger than Paradise" and "Broken Flowers," expressed disappointment in the independent distribution company Mubi for its ties to the Israeli military.
The Mubi streaming service is critical because one of its investors has links to the Israeli armaments industry. Director Jim Jarmusch is also disappointed.
Jim Jarmusch 'Disappointed' by 'Father Mother Sister Brother' Co-Producer Mubi's Ties to Israeli Defense Investor Sequoia
Jim Jarmusch said he was “disappointed and disconcerted” to learn that Mubi, the arthouse distributor and streamer that co-produced “Father Mother Sister Brother,” had accepted $100 million in funding from Sequoia Capital, the Silicon Valley venture firm with a stake in an Israeli defense-tech startup. “My relationship with Mubi started much before that, and they were fantastic to work with on the film,” Jarmusch told reporters at the Venice Fil…
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